Elderly expats in Spain urged to beware of crooks posing as medical workers

British expats living in Spain’s Costa del Sol region are being warned over robbers posing as medics.

As the newly-declared coronavirus pandemic hits out at expats all over Spain, a new danger is being warned against for residents in the popular Costa del Sol region. Residents in Manilva, Mijas, Calahonda and Cordobra are being warned they’re in danger from crooks posing as doctors or nurses checking up on coronavirus infections. The scam has being ongoing since the beginning of the Spanish outbreak.

One older expat female told local media she’d been at home when her doorbell rang and two Spaniards told her they were doctors checking up on possible infections in the area. Suspecting a problem and aware she and her husband were the only occupants in their apartment block at the time, she just put the phone down and didn’t buzz them in. According to police, this modus operandum is identical to those being used in Cordoba and Manilva, but robbers are also posing as staff from the Spanish Red Cross asking to perform a coronavirus test or clean the house against contamination.

Local police are urging expat residents, especially the elderly, to beware of these crooks and not to open their doors to anyone unless they’re known to the householder. Law enforcement officers are well aware of the scam and are requesting younger expats to keep an eye on the comings and goings around older residents as well as keeping them informed about how to deal with visits by strangers, however harmless they may appear.